Log inSubscribe
DETAIL

Report: Modular Load-Bearing Construction - A System for Corporate Architecture

Corporate architecture has long established itself in business culture as an emblematic form of identity. It is not surprising, therefore, to find the same steel canopy construction system used for car showrooms in places as far apart as Wolfsburg and Sarajevo. The system, developed for a German automobile manufacturer, can be extended in any direction. It comprises a 7 ≈ 7 m grid of lattice girders supported by columns at 14 ≈ 14 m centres. The individual canopy elements consist of a central column from which four diagonal arms are cantilevered. The arms, supported by four raking struts, are constructed from slender steel hollow sections, secured against overturning at the head of each column by bolted fixings between pairs of lugs. Both the arms and the columns have a tapered form, which reflects the distribution of the loading to which they are subject. The column shaft consists of 10 -12 mm thick welded sheet steel. 80 m deep canopy head is constructed of lightweight tubular lattice girders bolted to node elements at the ends of the cantilevered arms. A peripheral strip canti / levered from the edges of the canopy serves to support the facade and the sunshading louvres. In view of the repeated use foreseen for this system, a typical structural calculation was made for a standard situation. In the meantime, more than 40 showrooms of this type have been built around the world.

Report: Modular Load-Bearing Construction - A System for Corporate Architecture
© Jens Weber

Corporate architecture has long established itself in business culture as an emblematic form of identity. It is not surprising, therefore, to find the same steel canopy construction system used for car showrooms in places as far apart as Wolfsburg and Sarajevo. The system, developed for a German automobile manufacturer, can be extended in any direction. It comprises a 7 ≈ 7 m grid of lattice girders supported by columns at 14 ≈ 14 m centres. The individual canopy elements consist of a central column from which four diagonal arms are cantilevered. The arms, supported by four raking struts, are constructed from slender steel hollow sections, secured against overturning at the head of each column by bolted fixings between pairs of lugs. Both the arms and the columns have a tapered form, which reflects the distribution of the loading to which they are subject. The column shaft consists of 10 –12 mm thick welded sheet steel. 80 m deep canopy head is constructed of lightweight tubular lattice girders bolted to node elements at the ends of the cantilevered arms. A peripheral strip canti / levered from the edges of the canopy serves to support the facade and the sunshading louvres. In view of the repeated use foreseen for this system, a typical structural calculation was made for a standard situation. In the meantime, more than 40 showrooms of this type have been built around the world.

Gallery

  • The new seven-storey building on Hohlstrasse in Zurich will comprise a ground floor with retail space and public service areas, and five upper floors with commercial space.

    Railway Tracks as a Supporting Structure - How Does That Work? 

    Around 180 kilometres of track are replaced every year on the Swiss rail network. Until now, all this scrap metal has been melted down. However, the first building with a steel framework made from recycled rails will soon be constructed in western Zurich.

  • Landscape architect Line Ramstad is the new chief curator of the Oslo Triennale.

    „One Size Does Not Fit All" 

    Facades made from waste wool, recycled steel from decommissioned ships, housing rather than investment property: Line Ramstad, chief curator of the Oslo Triennale, shows what happens when nature takes precedence.

  • Paul Van Ostaijen Culture Campus in Leuven

    Lava architecten transformed an old mission building in Leuven into a place where circus arts, music, theatre, and dance coexist under one shared roof. Effective soundproofing is the precondition for the shared use of the facility.

  • Even though the main exhibition pavilion in the Giardini was closed, the 2025 Architecture Biennale featured more exhibits than ever before.

    Self-Exploitation in the Celebrity Circus

    At every Architecture Biennale, the curators face the same obstacles: a lack of funding, a great deal of red tape, and an organisation that ignores collective achievements. Why do they put themselves through this? We speak to Albena Yaneva, who spent a year observing the development process of the 2025 Biennale.

  • A vision for the future of Barcelona: Boltshauser Architekten have designed demountable street furniture made from concrete blocks for the Catalan metropolis. The blocks are made from recycled lean-mix concrete layers under roads.

    An End to Downcycling  

    In its current form, concrete recycling does little to help climate protection. The CO₂-intensive cement is lost irretrievably in the process. Boltshauser Architekten are working with a consortium from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain on the Respira research project to investigate how this can be avoided.

  • Stress tests have shown that re-use prestressed concrete slabs deflect significantly less than conventional reinforced concrete slabs.

    Slabs Under Tension 

    Concrete floor slabs have the largest carbon footprint of all building elements. In the past, the material was lost irretrievably during demolition. A Swiss consortium is now cutting standard square slabs from buildings due for demolition and using them to manufacture prestressed segmental concrete elements with a higher structural performance than new reinforced concrete.